Wednesday, January 30, 2013

I’ve worked with and loved
kids in this age group (8-12+) for years in parks and recreation. A fellow
author told me a number of years ago that kids in this age group needed wholesome books to read. So, I write
mysteries set in Hawaii—fun,
exciting, intriguing and wholesome!

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the
happiest day in your life?

My last day of work outside
the home, when I realized I could now write full-time! Yaaaaaaaay! (I’m bopping
up and down and screaming like Kimo,
Leilani’s ten-year-old annoying brother!)

How has being published changed your life?

I now do less writing and
HUGE amounts of marketing and promotion! Ugh! But it’s all good because I am
living my childhood dream of being
the published author of a mystery series!

What are you reading right now?

You can usually find me
reading a mystery or a suspense novel. Although, I’ve found some
historical/historical romances rather enticing. Right now I’m reading a
historical as well as a suspense!

What is your current work in progress?

I am working on books four
and five of The Hawaiian Island
Detective Club in hopes the series will be extended beyond the first three.
I am planning a rewrite of book one of my series, Detective Michael Macks and Me and my mind is also rumbling with
thoughts of a new series!

What would be your dream vacation?

I LOVE Hawaii and have visited a couple times. My dream
vacation would be to be invited by the Robinson family (descendants of
Elizabeth Sinclair who bought the island in 1863) to visit Niihau. The island is
virtually untouched by the outside world. I could experience their way of life
and hear them speak the ancient language. What an amazing blessing that would
be!

How do you choose your settings for each book?

I try to think of what
might be interesting to kids, someplace they can experience and learn about,
yet someplace real. Hawaii
came to mind as the perfect setting.

If you could spend an evening with one person who
is currently alive, who would it be and why?

Beth Moore because I think
she’s amazing and inspiring! I could use a dose of her enthusiasm, and I’d love
her thoughts on serving the Lord and furthering God’s kingdom.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I love planting a
vegetable garden, although it’s sometimes difficult to get many red tomatoes in
the Pacific NW! I also participate on the drama team at church and love all the
roles I’ve played—challenging, yet rewarding.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and
how do you overcome it?

Finding time! When I
decide to push through on writing, I set a weekly goal with room to catch-up or
get ahead on the weekends. I record my word count every week. It encourages me
to continue plugging away.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Set goals for your word
counts—and make sure they are reasonable goals! Reward yourself as you reach
those goals each week or each month.

Menehunes Missingis about a school fundraiser in which participants
search for Menehune statues hidden around town. Leilani, Maile and Sam enter
the contest and soon discover that the statues are disappearing. They are
determined to find out who is taking them and why.

Oh yes! You may ask—what exactly is a Menehune? They are Hawaii’s treasured
little people who worked hard (generally at night) building things like ponds
and roads.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Ekahi

(One)

I smoothed the
crumpled paper, stared at the words, and read the first clue.

I’m Menehune Number One. Find and check me out if you can. I’m hiding
amongst kids and cords.

What They’re Saying About Pineapples
in Peril, Book One of The Hawaiian Island Detective Club

Nancy Drew is
Back . . . And She's Hawaiian! –Jessica
Nelson

KIDS AND PARENTS:

My daughter, who is not a
huge reader, is loving her copy! She is
reading Pineapples in Peril and I don’t have to push her to read the 15
minutes she’s supposed to read every day! –A Mom

My son was super excited to show his class the book that
you autographed. He has already finished the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. He
is already excited about the next book in the series! –A Mom

My thirteen-year-old twin girls
just finished reading Pineapples in Peril and both loved
the book. One particularly focused on the characters. "I felt like I knew
them by the time I got to the end." She also enjoyed how the author built
the plot in such a way that kept her guessing. My other twin writes: "What
I liked was the never-ending excitement, as well as the atmosphere of intensity
growing with every page. I enjoyed how Leilani includes her brother even though
he gets on her nerves." –A Mom

Bethany loved your first
book! I will be ordering this one for her. –A Mom

The fifth-grade class in library this morning were so
excited to check out Pineapples in Peril! Also, a few of
the students who had purchased books were carrying them into library. I had one
student tell me she has already read it all the way through one time and is in
the process of reading it a second time because "it is soooo
good!" –C. Reed, Librarian

This is such a great book! –A Fourth Grader

Thank you for writing my favorite book ever! –Emma

Thank you, Cheryl, for sharing this book with us, and giving us a peek inside your life.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Colleen Coble has a new book, and it's a wonderful read. In this second book in her Under the Texas Stars series, we meet strong characters with a lot to lose. I loved following the people as they lived varied lives that intertwined. Colleen's characters, as always, were multi-layered, and they really grabbed my heart. I had a hard time putting the book down.

Meet Colleen:

Best-selling
author Colleen Coble's novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the
Best Books of Indiana, ACFW Book of the Year, RWA's RITA, the Holt Medallion,
the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers' Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She
has nearly 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she
loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction
Writers and is a member of Romance Writers of America. She lives with her
husband Dave in Indiana.

I went to church as a little girl with my grandmother. My
Sunday School teacher was the sweetest lady named Pearl. She was married but she and her
husband had never had children. I loved for her to read The Little Lost Lamb
to me, and my grandmother sometimes took me to Pearl’s house where I would beg
to hear the story.

When I got married, church fell by the wayside as I threw myself
into my husband, children, and home. Then one dark night (it was my birthday)
we were driving home from a birthday party at my in-laws. While we’d been
celebrating, freezing rain had begun to fall and the roads were slick. I was
dozing with my 3-year-old daughter on my lap (in the years before car seats.) I
heard my husband yell, “Look out!” I opened my eyes and saw another car sliding
toward us sideways in our lane. In that moment, I knew I was going to die and
that I wasn’t ready to meet God.

I don’t remember much about the impact until I became aware
of the freezing rain hitting me through the broken T-top. The horn was blaring
just like in a nightmarish movie. But we were all alive. The first people who
stopped where Christians. One of them rode with our daughter to the hospital.
Their church brought in food for us when we got out of the hospital. It was a
tender time of believers showing us Jesus in the flesh. Six months later I
became a Christian, and three months later my husband did also.

Jesus has changed my life in so many ways. When the trials
come (and there have been many!) he has walked the path with me. I’m so
thankful for the daily joy walking with Christ brings me.

You’re planning a
writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be
and why?

The first three are easy: Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt,
and Denise Hunter. We’ve been great friends a long time, and we know the
elements that need to go into one another’s books. Robin Caroll is another good
friend who has brainstormed a lot with me. Our styles are very similar. And
I’ve recently become friends with a terrific brainstormer, Michelle Lim. She’s
not published yet, but she will be any time.

Do you have a
speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

Not really. I speak to libraries and reader groups but my
real ministry is writing.

I love speaking at
libraries and reader groups. What is the most embarrassing thing that has
happened to you and how did you handle it?

Oh I still blush at this one! I was in the rest room at
church. I’d just come out of a stall and went to wash my hands. I heard a
couple of teenage girls giggling but thought nothing of it. I went on out into
the sanctuary, and a few seconds later, a good friend came flying up to me. She
yanked down my skirt. The hem of it had gotten caught in my pantyhose! Those
girls. L
They let me go out of the bathroom that way. Horrible, embarrassing moment!

People are always
telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you,
too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that?

I’d tell them it takes a lot of hard work. It takes a long
time to learn to write, to learn craft, to learn how to write your favorite
genre. You have to develop a thick skin to take rejections. It took me seven
years to get published. I literally have enough rejection slips to paper a wall
in my office. But I learned perseverance and a lot about writing. You never
arrive as a writer though. That’s what makes writing so much fun—you learn with
every new project.

It took me eight
years to get my first book published. Tell us about the featured book.

Safe in His Arms is a book that touches most of us women where
we live—our self-confidence. We look at ourselves and wish we were thinner,
prettier, had curly hair, had straight hair, had a different color eyes, etc.
The list goes on and on. Margaret is too tall, has hair too red, is too
tomboyish to ever believe a man will see her heart and her good qualities. When
her father hires a new ranch foreman, the sparks begin to fly and so does the
danger. It was great fun to write! I took the bones of an old Heartsong, Red River Bride, and more than doubled
the word count. I added a suspense thread and a new spiritual theme. It’s very
different from the original, but that little book provided the inspiration.

I’ve read the book
and loved it, but please give us the first page of the book for my readers.

The town of Larson, Texas, was busy on this
warm February day. Cowboys in their dusty boots eyed the women attired in their
best dresses strolling the boardwalks. Margaret O’Brien strode down the
boardwalk in front of the feed store toward the mercantile. Things seemed to
change daily with new stores sprouting like winter wheat. It seemed daily more
cowmen arrived to Larson, drawn by the lush grazing land and the water in the
Red River.

Pa should be around here somewhere. She nodded to the ladies
clustered in front of the general store, the familiar discomfort washing over
her. Why couldn’t she look like them? No matter how hard Margaret tried, she
remained what she was: too tall and more at home with her hands gripping horse
reins than a teacup. She ducked into the store and inhaled the aroma of
cinnamon, bootstrap, sweat, and pickles. She busied herself with collecting
material for their housekeeper, who had a bee in her bonnet about making
curtains.

A cluster of women were talking in hushed whispers about the
latest Zulu atrocity in Africa. These early
months of 1879 had been full of the bloody battles. Hearing such things always
made Margaret wince, remembering her brother’s death at the hands of the Sioux.
At least a national monument had been established earlier this year in memory
of those who fell during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

The women fell silent when Margaret paused. “Good morning,”
she said in as confident a voice as she could muster. “Anyone know what kind of
material to buy for curtains? I thought this was pretty.”

When she held up a lilac-flowered material, one of the women
tittered, a tiny blonde Margaret had never seen before. Her face burned, and
she put the bolt of fabric back.

“How about this one?” a woman said behind her.

Margaret’s heart leaped at the sound of her friend’s voice,
and she whirled with a smile. “Lucy, I didn’t know you were in town today.
Should you be riding in a wagon in your condition?”

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

Monday, January 28, 2013

I write books with lots of romance, adventure, danger,
suspense, because this is the type of exciting book I like to read. I like a
book that takes me away, and leaves me with images to remember for months, if
not years later. But at the same time, I must write books that tell about the
greatest love of all—that of Christ’s love for us. Nothing is more exciting
than that.

Besides when you came
to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

The day my husband David asked me to be his wife, and the
consequent days that each of our children were born. Aside from God, my family
is my greatest joy.

How has being published
changed your life?

It got a lot busier, but also brought a lot of people into
my life, people I consider friends, like our very dear Lena Nelson Dooley. How
wonderful to go to a writers’ conference and find lovely fellow writers such as
Lena and receive a big hug. It’s so wonderful
to work in tangent with quality writers like this, who only want the same
thing—to share Christ with others through the telling of stories.

And then there are all the really neat people I get to meet when
they contact me after reading my books. I wish more readers would email me at Christine.Lindsay.Writer@gmail.com
I love to meet them. It all boils down to relationships with others. Such a
great feeling to get to know people.

I so agree Christine.
I love getting to know other authors, and hearing from readers really makes my
day. What are you reading right now?

Band of Sisters by
Cathy Gohlke, and really loving it.

I loved that book as
well. What is your current work in progress?

I’m working on a romance novella set in England, and then I have to start
writing the third and final book to my series, Twilight of the British Raj,
which will be called Veiled at Midnight
and released by WhiteFire in 2014.

We need to schedule
that book on my blog. What would be your dream vacation?

Oh my goodness, anywhere tropical where I can sit on a
beach, look at turquoise water, sip a nice fruit juice and read a great book.
With my hubby beside me. Although I did hear about this wonderful horse-drawn
sleigh-ride that you can book at Christmas time up at Lake Louise in Canada. I would
love to do that for a winter vacation.

How do you choose
your settings for each book?

The settings always come with the character that takes my
heart. In my India series, it started out with my British Cavalry Major, Geoff
Richards, who was the fictionalized version of my great, great, great—or
something like that—great grandfather. And so that series was permanently set
in British Colonial India—an extremely exotic place, terrific for danger and
romance.

Because I’m Irish born, a lot of my characters tend to be of
British or Irish stock, so often that sets my books in the British
Isles. But British history fascinates me. Hence their colonies do
which used to take up a large segment of the map.

If you could spend an
evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

I’d love to sit down and have tea with Queen Elizabeth.
Being born in British owned Northern Ireland,
and a citizen of Canada
which is part of the British Commonwealth, Elizabeth the Second is my queen. In my
opinion she is a royal that is deserving of great honor. She’s kept her promise
to her subjects and served her people well.

What are your
hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I’m chuckling to myself. There isn’t much time for anything
else, although I love my garden. I just saw some of my daffodils have poked up in
the front by the driveway.

What is your most
difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Fitting everything into a tight schedule. There is so much
more to being a published writer than writing books. Getting the word out about
our books is a tough job. It’s hard to talk about yourself, when as a
writer—especially a Christian writer—we are much happier shining the light on
Christ or on our characters.

What advice would you
give to a beginning author?

If you find great joy in crafting words on a page, then do
it. Keep at it, because it is not an easy climb. But along the way you will
make many friends, and most of all come to rely more and more upon Christ, and
you will be what God wired you to be—a writer.

Tell us about the
featured book.

Captured by Moonlightis the continuing story of Eshana and of
Nursing Matron Laine Harkness from Shadowed
in Silk. These two feisty women from Book 1 practically demanded that I
tell their story.

Due to their desire to help young girls who are being
sexually abused in the north of India,
Eshana and Laine find the police on their heels. As they both escape to the
south of India,
they are each captured by their respective pasts.

Laine goes to a new position as nurse in a clinic that is
thick in the jungle, only to discover the owner of the plantation is her former
fiancé who broke her heart during the war. Laine is determined that Adam will
never again crush her like he did when he sent her that Dear Jane letter.

Unknown to Laine, Eshana is caught and imprisoned by her
traditional Hindu uncle who is angry that she is living as a Christian. He
secretly imprisons Eshana in a house hidden in the jungle where she discovers
friendship with a little girl who is also engaged to be married, though she is
only six.

Eshana wonders if she will ever see freedom again, or is she
to wear the funeral garb of a Hindu widow for the rest of her life? She is also
saddened that she may never again see Dr. Jai Kaur, a Sikh man whom she has
become great friends with.

Captured by Moonlight has two romances within its story, and I
believe it will capture the heart of any Christian romance reader. At the same
time I try to gently tackle a serious issue that is still current today—young
children being used as sex slaves.

Here is the book trailer.

Please give us the
first page of the book.

Amritsar, Northern
India, Late October, 1921

If the head woman from the
temple looked in her direction, Laine Harkness wouldn’t give two

squashed mangoes for her
life, or Eshana’s. Laine could never be confused for an Indian, but with the
tail end of this cotton sari covering half her face, and her brown eyes peeking
over, she simply had to blend in. Still, any minute now that hatchet-faced
female standing guard to the girls’ quarters could let out a pulse-freezing
yell.

A sudden blare of a conch
shell from within the Hindu temple stretched Laine’s nerves. She and

Eshana must be mad to risk
this exploit again. The Principal Matron at Laine’s hospital would give her a
severe reprimand if she ever found out. More likely sack her. If either she or
Eshana had any sense at all, they’d turn around, go back to the mission, and
mind their own business.

But a line from Wordsworth,
one of Adam’s favorites, ran through her mind...little, nameless,

unremembered acts of
kindness and of love...

Blast! She wouldn’t call
what she and Eshana were about to do little, but please let it be

unremembered. Unnoticed
would be better still.

Nudging Eshana in the side
and closing her mind to the writhing creatures in the burlap bags

they carried, she hissed
into Eshana’s ear. “Well off you go. You’ve got yours to dispose of, and I’ve
got mine. Just please keep that guard distracted.” Laine jutted her chin toward
the obese head woman waddling around in a sari stained down the front with
betel juice. Every once in a while she would take her long wooden club and rap
on the doors of the hovels.

Eshana hurried through the
narrow alleyway toward the guardian of the temple girls, carrying a

similar burlap sack to
Laine’s.

On the opposite side of the
bazaar, the globelike spires of a temple devoted to a Hindu goddess

poked above nearby
rooftops. Like a multi-tiered cake decorated in a variety of colored
icings—pinks, blues, orange—the temple enticed like a sugary concoction.

But from there the
loveliness ended. In these alleyways behind the temple, the pervasive scent

of incense and stale
flowers mixed with the reek of human misery. Girls who should still be playing
with toys, and some a little older, chatted with each other. Many of the
paint-chipped doors were closed, imprisoning within those adolescent girls forced
into ritual marriages to a Hindu deity.

Laine flattened herself
against the peeling plaster wall to watch Eshana shake out the contents

of her sack at the base of
a cluster of clay pots. Now she waved her hands about, talking in rapid Hindi
to the older woman. Good girl, Eshana, that’s the ticket. Laine’s stomach writhed in rhythm to the
creature in the bag she carried. She strengthened her grip at the top of the
sack though the drawstring had been tightly pulled.

Sure enough the head woman
stomped off with Eshana and began to clatter around the pots

with her club, giving Laine
the moment she waited for. Sixth door from the end on this side, Eshana had
told her. Eshana had been visiting the inhabitants of this alley on a regular
basis in an attempt to give them some sort of medical aid.

Thank you, Christine, for sharing your book with us.Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.Captured by Moonlight

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Marianne (Alb) is the winner of an ebook of Love in Three-Quarter Time by Dina Sleiman.Monica (Ont) is the winner of an ebook of UnconditionalbyTanya Eavenson.Pol (GA)is the winner of The Lesson by Suzanne Woods Fisher.Jorie (FL)is the winner of The Stagecoach Murders by Howard Worley.Diana (SC) is the winner of Every Perfect Gift by Dorothy Love.Mary P (Aus) is the winner of an ebook of Song of the MeadowlarkbySherri Wilson Johnson.

If you won a book and you like it, consider giving the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, Barnes and Noble, or other Internet sites. Also, tell your friends about the book ... and this blog. Thank you.

Congratulations, everyone. If you won a print book, send me your mailing address:Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.If you won the ebook, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.When you contact me, please give the title of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.

Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.If you didn't win and you plan to order the book, please use the link provided on the individual interview. By using that link when you order, you will help support this blog.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Today is a banner day for you, Readers. We have two interviews. Gail Sattler's interview is for a novel. Be sure to keep reading when you finish this post. Anita is the author of our nonfiction book today. She's another of my dear writing friends.

Welcome, Anita. What would you like for our readers to know about you
personally?

I love God. I love my family. And I love to write. In that order. But writing has never come easily
to me. I’ve always had to work hard at it. And success has come slowly too. But
I’m grateful to be able to share my work with readers.

Tell us about your family.
Both my kids have
graduated from college and have married. My son, Scott, works in the oil
business, and my daughter, Hillary, works as an assistant to a youth minister.
My daughter is a wonderful writer, and we’re coauthoring a devotional book that
will come out this year. Needless to say, I’m very proud of both my kids.

Have you written other nonfiction books?
I’ve been writing for almost
thirty years, and I have thirty-two books published. Some of those books
through the years have been nonfiction, but now I write mostly novels with an
occasional nonfiction release. But Where
God Finds Youwas a special book to write. Each devotion is infused with
Biblical fiction, and as far as I know there’s nothing on the market like it.

Do you have any other books in the works right now?
Yes, I’m working on a
novel as well as a devotional book.
What kinds of hobbies and leisure activities do you enjoy? I love gardening,
decorating, and poking around antique shops. Also, I’ve been collecting tea
dishes for years. Sometimes I have my gal friends over for brunches, and I
bring out all my finery.

Why did you write the featured book?

That is a
good question. At first I didn’t want to write it. I knew writing a devotional
book with Biblical fiction would not be an easy task. Also, I’m not a Biblical
scholar, so at first I was overwhelmed, knowing how much research it would take
to write a book of this kind. In fact, I said no to the editor who’d asked me
to take on this project. But then he asked me to pray about my decision. That
weekend I did pray about it, and felt strongly that I was meant to write this
book. I may not have a degree in theology, but I did want to be obedient to
God. Writing this devotional book, Where God Finds You, turned out to
be an amazing experience. I have never felt so close to God as I did when I was
writing this book.

What do you want the reader to take away from the book?
My hope is
that people will enjoy discovering how relevant the Bible stories are to our
lives today. I wanted to bring the characters to life and show that these
ancient people were very much like us with similar hurts and tragedies, hopes
and transgressions, joys and triumphs. Even though the culture was dramatically
different, our hearts are the same. Those famous Bible folk needed God back
then just as we need him in our daily lives right now.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

Readers, Gail is one of my long-time writing friends, having shared the same publisher for our early years. We really connected on many levels. Welcome, Gail. I love your new head shot. It displays your personality.

What are some of the
spiritual themes you like to write about?

Right now I’m working on themes of trust. I feel trust is
the foundation to any relationship with people and with our Savior.

What other books of
yours are coming out soon?

In February 2012, the 2nd book of the Bloomfield series – called
When Pigs And Parrots Fly. It’s a fun
story meant to make the reader smile. After that, my second book in my Mennonite
series, called The Path To Piney Meadows,
which is about Chad,
who appeared in the last chapter of The
Narrow Path.

If you could spend an
evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would
it be and why?

With my friend and fellow writer, Lena Nelson Dooley. Ms.
Dooley is a warm and fun person, always uplifting and has a great sense of
humor. Never lacking for conversation, and has a quick wit. I know you are
blushing as you read this, but you asked and so I answered.

Thank you, Gail. I
miss being with you, too. We have a lot of fun together. What historical person
would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?

Mark Twain. Because he was a writing genius and made his own
path.

How can you encourage
authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?

Rejections happen, they are as much a part of the business
of writing as submitting. It means you are trying, and if you keep trying, you
keep moving forward, and that’s what we all have to do in this business. 99.9%
of writers, even published writers, will get rejections. Welcome to the club.

The publishers shows the feel of the story in this cover. Tell us about the
featured book.

As mentioned above, this is 2nd book in the new Bloomfield series, which
revolves around the lives of the quirky members of the Bloomfield Garden Club.
It’s a fun book to read, and it’s my first e-book only. It’s available in POD,
but it’s being released as an e-book only.

(Readers, that means it won't be in bookstores. However, it is available online in both paperback and ebook editions.)

I had the privilege
of reading this book for endorsement. It’s a fun read. But please give us the
first page of the book for my blog readers.

When Pigs (and Parrots) Fly

by Gail Sattler

CHAPTER 1

“I’m
not so sure of this.” Josh Tavendish ran his fingers down the conglomeration of
colored shapes. “Do you really think it’s going to work?”

Beside
him, Sarah stood reading the now-empty box. He figured that being a
veterinarian, she would be the one who would know what would attract, and keep,
a parrot’s attention.

“It
has to,” she mumbled. “Quite frankly, I don’t know why they’re insisting on
this. Half the children are terrified of Murray.”

Josh
nodded. “Not to mention a lot of adults aren’t too comfortable with him,
either. Andy isn’t sure it’s going to work, but he couldn’t say no. You know
how he feels about expanding the burn unit for the hospital. For that, he’s
willing to give anything a try. If including Murray in the fundraiser raises more funds,
then Andy will do it.” Although, Andy wasn’t the only one who had doubts if the
whole thing was going to work. Not only did Murray not have the most friendly
disposition, neither did Andy.

A
few years ago Andy, ever the responsible fire chief, had dressed up as Santa
for another hospital fundraiser. Even though he hadn’t been the cheeriest Santa
on record, the event had been a success, and therefore sealed Andy’s fate. For
this season’s hospital fundraiser, the theme was swashbucklers. With Andy’s
disposition, Josh could well imagine Andy as a swarthy pirate.

But
Josh couldn’t imagine Murray,
Andy’s cranky parrot, behaving himself in a crowd. He especially couldn’t
imagine the bird posing for photographs.

He
poked at the red plastic square and watched it swing. “Do you really think this
is going to make Murray
behave? What’s it supposed to do, hypnotize him?”

Sarah
tapped the blue circle. “They didn’t teach us much about parrots in veterinary
college, but I do know they’re smarter than people think. The most important
thing I learned about parrots is that a bored parrot is an unhappy parrot. Andy
needs to keep Murray
distracted, so this thing just might work.”

Josh
turned his head to look over his shoulder. For the first time since he opened
his pet supply store four years ago, people were waiting in line outside. He
wished it had something to do with the ad he’d taken out in the Bloomfield Gazette, or the small poster
he’d put up at Sarah’s veterinary clinic, but he knew it wasn’t so. Nor did it
matter what new pet toys he had on sale.

The
people outside crowding the sidewalk weren’t coming to check out his new stock.

Like
a twisted Groundhog Day, everyone was here to see how Murray reacted to the new parrot toy.

This
was worse than reality television. And it was happening in his store.

The
buzz of conversation outside increased.

He
didn’t know the last time Bloomfield
had seen so much action. There would be no middle ground for what happened
today. It would either go really good, or really, really bad, and he didn’t
have a good feeling about it.

In
his experience, Andy was only slightly friendlier than Murray, with emphasis on the slightly.
The specific reason Andy agreed and would tolerate today’s side-show was
because allowing people to watch Murray’s reaction to the new toy created hype,
and the hype drew people’s attention to the fundraiser. Over Andy’s years with
the fire department, Andy had seen too many injuries, so having the hospital
well staffed with up-to-date equipment in good repair was very important to
him, which was why he’d agreed to participate.

Josh
checked his watch. “I have to go open the door. Andy will be here in five
minutes.”

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

Thursday, January 24, 2013

God has really been
moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

God has been with me in my writing from the beginning—from
the short stories I wrote as a child to the novels and stories and articles I
write today. But at last I am finally writing what I want to write instead of
what is popular at the moment.

My father and my maternal grandfather were ranch managers
(real cowboys) and I spent part of my growing years on a sixty thousand acre
cattle ranch in South Texas. As a result, I
like to write stories with a western setting. Don’t quote me on this, but I
have a hunch the new wave in fiction will be westerns.

Tell us a little
about your family.

I was born in Kingsville,
Texas, home of the famous King
Ranch, and I married my college sweetheart. We have lived in many places since
we married, including Germany,
but now we live in South Texas again in the town of Kingsville.

They song says, Mama, don’tletyoubabiesgrowuptobecowboys. But all
three of our grown sons are involved in ranching in Texas today. Five of our
six grandchildren are either in 4-H or FAA and will be showing animals in the
upcoming county livestock show. Only one of our grandchildren isn’t involved.
She is only two. But I am sure she will be in the thick of it as soon as she is
old enough.

Has your writing
changed your reading habits? If so, how?

I don’t have as much time to read as I once did. My writing
is taking off, and I’m writing almost constantly. All those old books I wrote
so long ago are selling. Still, I have to polish my old manuscript before I
send them to my publisher, and that takes time.

What are you working
on right now?

I am working on a lot of projects at once. CinderellaTexas is book one in a series of western romance novels called
The Cattlemen Series, and it was published as an e-book in November 2012. It
will be coming out in audio and in paperback later, and I am working on book
two of The Cattlemen Series now.

BedtimeStoriesforBelievers became an e-book in December 2012, and now I am also
working on God’s
Favorite
Family,
a series of books for young children in rhyme that I wrote when I was teaching
Kindergarten in a public school. I was never able to find an artist to do the
illustrations. But now I found one who happens to live only fifteen miles away.
I will also have a story in a book of short stories for adults being compiled
now and set in the old west. Various authors are writing the short stories for
the series, and I still have to write Book Three of The Cattlemen Series.

What outside
interests do you have?

If I told you, you might laugh. Besides being with my
husband and family, I love to read and study Bible prophecy, and I am a fan of
a TV show called “Prophecy in the News.”

I’m not laughing. I
knew this about you. How do you choose your settings for each book?

I like to write about things I know. So often, when I
describe a scene in one of my stories, I am describing something I actually saw
with my own eyes.

If you could spend an
evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

Jesus Christ. He is the most exciting and interesting person
who ever walked on this good earth. He is also God’s only begotten son. Who
wouldn’t want to spent time talking to him?

What is the one thing
you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

I wish I had known how important it was to polish a novel
before sending it to a publisher. At one time, I sent out my first draft, and
it was often sent back by return mail.

What new lessons is
the Lord teaching you right now?

For years I was puffed up about my writing career, waiting
for the big publishers to come knocking on my door, and that might be God’s
plan for some. But it was not God’s plan for me. Now I write for a small book
publisher and loving it.

What are the three
best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

Never give up. Never give up. Never give up. If you enjoy
writing, it is because God gave you the talent, ability and the desire to
write. So do it. Write. And never give up.

Tell us about the
featured book.

CinderellaTexas is the retelling of the
classic fairy tale complete with a shoe problem for the heroine. Set on a
cattle ranch in South Texas in modern times, I would call CinderellaTexas a lighthearted romance that I think will make you smile
when you read it—maybe even laugh.

I can’t wait to read
it. Please give us the first page of the book.

I’ll do better than that. I will give you the first part of
the story. You have to meet my cowboy hero.

“Si, senorita.” Poncho reduced the speed of the double-cab pickup and
wheeled onto the turning lane. “The ranch, he is here.” He pulled to a stop in
front of an ordinary-looking metal gate.

Alyson stared at him for a moment. “But we’re
out in the middle of nowhere. I haven’t
seen a town or another house for miles.”

Poncho’s wide smile revealed a missing tooth
in front. He opened the door on the driver’s side.

Alyson studied the Hispanic man who had
picked her up at the airport in Corpus
Christi, Texas—earlier
that morning. “Let me open the gate,” she said.

“No, senorita. I will do it. You might get
your clothes dirty.”

While Poncho opened the gate, Alyson thought about her new boss, Quatro
Greene. She hadn’t stopped thinking about him since she read that magazine
article where all the rumors about him and his family were discussed—strange,
secretive, mysterious, never seen in town unless it had something to do with
business, visiting a doctor or buying supplies.

A lot happened in the last three weeks. Besides being in a minor
accident that required stitches, she’d accepted a job home schooling Quatro
Greene’s two children. However, she hadn’t gone to NorthTexasUniversity for four years
to become a home schoolteacher.

But she was desperate after realizing she wasn’t going to find a
teaching position in Dallas in the middle of the school year. Besides, Tim
lived in Dallas. After she saw him with that leggy blonde, she wanted to be as
far from him and Dallas as possible.

Alyson and Quatro had talked on the phone
several times, but this would be the first time they met face-to-face. She’d
wanted to look her best. Alyson glanced down, straightening the hem of her gold
top.

A sign in small black letters and written in
Spanish was nailed to two cedar posts next to the gate. UnaNacionDeDios, she read. Main20. Under it, she saw a No
Trespassing sign printed in English with more Spanish words under it—possibly a
“no trespassing” in that language.

She didn’t know Spanish, but maybe the number
twenty meant that the Greenes owned nineteen other ranches. They were
billionaires and probably lived in a mansion. So why hadn’t they invested in a
more impressive entry?

Poncho got back in the truck and drove
through.

As he went back to lock the gate, Alyson
looked around. She hadn’t known she would be living behind a locked gate. Why
wasn’t that mentioned in the teaching contract she signed?

Before she fully considered what that might
mean, they wheeled down a blacktopped road that curved toward several red
barns. Oil wells loomed in the distance.

“What do the Spanish words on the gate mean?”
she asked.

“The Country of God.”

Alyson smiled. “God’s
Country. I like that.”

An old fashioned wagon pulled by two brown
horses was parked at the side of the road. A man wearing a cowboy hat appeared
to be the driver.

“Who is that?” She pointed to the cowboy.

“Senor Quatro Greene.”

“You mean my new boss?” She gave a short
laugh. “You’re joking.”

“I make no joke, senorita. The man, he is
Senor Greene.” Poncho slowed and then stopped about ten feet from the wagon.

The cowboy waved to them. With his blue jeans
tucked into his black high-topped boots and that slim body, Quatro looked too
young to be a widower with two school-aged children. He climbed down from his
perch, looking tall and fit as he rearranged things in the back of the wagon.

Alyson pulled her makeup mirror from her
purse for a quick look at her appearance, holding the mirror at a different
angle and hoping for a better result. But the cuts and bruises on her face
still showed, regardless of the extra layer of makeup she’d applied after
leaving the plane.

Her wounds would heal—without leaving scars,
she hoped. She’d thought breaking up with Tim would leave scars. It hadn’t.

Hailey was right about Tim all along. She
dabbed a bit more powder, snapped the makeup holder shut and put it back in her
purse.

She glanced back at the wagon. Quatro started
toward them.

He was better looking than she expected, but that
was no reason to tense up. She raised her chin a notch.
Okay, a lot better looking.

Quatro reached the truck in what seemed like
four strides. He had high cheekbones and a dark complexion. He removed his hat
and held it. Reddish-brown hair curled around the edges of his ears and at his
hairline, and broad shoulders filled out his navy blue western shirt making his
sapphire-colored eyes look even bluer.

A trace of boyish
mischief gleamed in his smile, causing her to want to smile right back. His
grin faded. One dark eyebrow arched as he appraised her face. He knew about the
accident, but this was the first time he actually saw her cuts and bruises.

Quatro’s smile returned. He ducked his head,
and sticking his hand through the open window, he shook her hand. “I’m Robert
Greene, but my friends call me Quatro. You must be Alyson Spencer.”

“Yes, I am.”

He held her hand a
moment longer than she would have expected. And she felt the warmth of his
palm.

She’d learned that quatro meant four
in Spanish. And he’d signed her teaching contract as Robert Lee Greene IV.

Quatro turned to Poncho.
“I want you to service my truck. Have someone drive it on up to the barn for me
after you put Miss Spencer’s luggage in the back of the wagon.”

“Si, senor.”

Back of the wagon?
Surely he hadn’t meant they would be traveling in that wagon. In these clothes?

She paid big bucks for her gold silk pantsuit
because she wanted to look her best at their first meeting. She also bought
cowboy boots but never intended to wear them. In hindsight, she should have
bought an extra pair of jeans to go with the boots.

Quatro studied Alyson
for a moment. “So if you will be so good as to climb in the wagon, we can be on
our way.”

Stunned by all that
she’d seen and heard, she felt her jaw drop. Pull yourselftogether, Alyson, she told herself. Theremustbeanexplanation.

Maybe the Greenes treated all newcomers to wagon
rides. Eccentric billionaires did pretty much anything they wished, and nobody
said a word. A slow smile formed on her lips. Could it be that he knew how much
she loved antiques and historical novels and did all this to make me feel
welcome?

#

I’m going to like
this book. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of one of the books. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com